In a deal first announced in September, Farhad Moshiri completes the sale his majority stake in Everton Football Club to The Friedkin Group. Tony McDonough reports

Everton FC’s new majority shareholder has been confirmed as The Friedkin Group.

On Thursday it was announced that the US-based business, headed by billionaire chairman and chief executive Dan Friedkin, had acquired the 98.8% stake in the club held by long-term owner Farhad Moshiri via his Blue Heaven Holdings vehicle. It has also converted the club’s debt into equity.

Friedkin has appointed Marc Watts as executive chairman. Pledging to buy new players, Mr Watts said: “We are proud to be the new custodians of your club. Together, we will usher Everton into a new era, one that is marked by ambition and professionalism.

“As stewards of Everton, we look forward to showing our commitment to the club through actions, not words. We believe there are exceptional people working in the club. The resilience and commitment shown to get through a challenging period in Everton’s history has been inspiring to see and provides a great foundation for us to build on.

“The Friedkin Group will take a focused approach, one that is driven by innovation and business experience. Our long-term vision is to harness the passion of fans and great qualities of the club to realise Everton’s full potential.”

Originally announced in September, the deal had been subject to regulatory approval from the Premier League, the Football Association and the Financial Conduct Authority. Those tests have now been passed and Everton can now enter a new era.

Mr Watts added: “In the short term, we understand the club has faced significant challenges on and off-the-pitch for several years. That’s why our immediate priority is stabilising the club and improving results on the pitch.

“We have provided an injection of capital to ensure the completion of the new stadium. The transaction has seen most of Everton’s debt either converted to equity, repaid or refinanced on terms more favourable to the stability of the club.

“While there is much work to be done, and PSR remains a limiting factor in the short term, the underlying financial position is now much stronger.

“On the pitch, we have a lot still to fight for this season and our energies are now focused on maximising the remaining time to drive results.

“We’re pleased that Colin Chong has agreed to remain in his interim position while we finalise the appointment of a new permanent CEO, which we will update you on in due course. We want to thank Colin, the leadership team and everyone at Everton for their hard work and support.

“We also want to thank Farhad Moshiri for his cooperation during the transition and facilitating a new start for Everton. The road ahead of us is long and there will be further challenges to come, but we are committed to living by Everton’s motto: nil satis nisi optimum.”

This deal brings an end to Mr Moshiri’s association with Everton. He first bought a stake in the club in 2016. He has spent hundreds of millions of pounds on players, with little success on the pitch to show for it, and on the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

Mr Moshiri had previously agreed to seek his stake to the US-based 777 Partners in September 2023. However, that deal later fell through.

Over the past year or so Everton has suffered financial losses, spiralling debt and issues relating to the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules which led to points deductions last season. On the pitch the team has flirted with relegation.

This is Everton’s final season at its historic Goodison Park home with the team set to kick off the 2024/25 football season at its new docklands stadium. It will have a capacity of 52,888 and is costing more than £750m to build.

The Friedkin Group is a privately held consortium of businesses and investments representing billionaire chairman and chief executive Dan Friedkin and his family. The business is based in the US and also owns Serie A side Roma.

In the last few months the business has already ploughed around £200m into the club and fans will be hoping there is more investment to come. They will certainly breathe a sigh of relief at the departure of Mr Moshiri.